Administrative Regulations on Commercial Performances (Revised in 2008)

Administrative Regulations on Commercial Performances (Revised in 2008)

Order of the State Council No. 528

July 22, 2008

(Promulgated as the No.439 order of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on July 7, 2005 and amended according to the Decision of the State Council on the Revision of the Administrative Regulations on Commercial Performances of July 22, 2008)

Chapter I General Provisions

Article1 The Regulations is formulated for the purposes of enhancing the administration of commercial performances, promoting the development of cultural industry, boosting the socialist art cause, catering for the cultural needs of the people and advancing the socialist spiritual civilization.

Article 2 The commercial performances mentioned in the Regulations refers to the onsite art performances for the general public for profit making purposes.

Article 3 The commercial performances shall adhere to the orientation of serving the people and the socialism, give priority to the social benefits, balancing the social and economic benefits and enrich the cultural life of the people.

Article 4 The state encourages the artistic performance organizations and performers to create and perform programs with high ideological and artistic level, which reflect excellent national cultural traditions and are popular among the people, and encourages them to give gratuitous or preferential performances in rural areas and industrial and mining enterprises and for children.

Article 5 The competent department of culture under the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the commercial performances across the country. The public security department and the administration for industry and commerce under the State Council shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of commercial performance according to their respective functions.
The competent departments of culture under local people's governments at or above county level shall be responsible for the supervision and administration of the commercial performances in places under their jurisdictions. The public security departments and administrations for industry and commerce under local people's governments at or above county level shall, according to their respective functions, be responsible for the supervision and administration of commercial performances in places under their jurisdiction.

Chapter II Establishment of Business Entities of Commercial Performances

Article 6 For establishing an artistic performance organization, the applicant shall have full-time performers and equipment that can meet the requirements of its performance business.
For establishing a performance brokerage institution, the applicant shall have three or more full-time performance brokers and funds that can meet the needs of its business.

Article 7 For establishing an artistic performance organization, the applicant shall apply to the competent department of culture under the people's government at county level. For establishing a performance brokerage institution, the applicant shall apply to the competent department of culture under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government. The competent departments of culture shall make a decision within 20 days upon its acceptance of the application. They shall issue the commercial performance license for those approved, and notify the applicants in written form and make an explanation for those disapproved.
An applicant shall take the license to go through registration formalities in the industrial and commercial administration department and obtain a business license after has obtained the commercial performance license.

Article 8 For establishing a business entity of performance places, the applicant shall go through registration formalities in the administration for industry and commerce, get a business license and handle approval formalities in accordance with the relevant laws and administrative regulations on fire fighting and sanitation, etc.
A business entity of performance places shall, within 20 days upon its obtaining of its business license, report to the competent department of culture under the people's government at the county level at the place where it domiciles for file.

Article 9 Where an artistic performance organization or a performance brokerage institution intends to change its name, domicile, legal representative or main principals or business items of commercial performances, it shall apply to the original license issuing agency for changing its commercial performance license and go through the alteration formalities in the industrial and commercial administration department by law.
Where a business entity of performance places intends to change its name, domicile, legal representative or major principals, it shall go through alteration formalities in the industrial and commercial administration department and re-filing formalities in the original filing agency.

Article 10 The self-employed performers engaged in commercial performances (hereafter referred as the self-employed performers) and self-employed performance brokers engaged in activities including intermediary and agency for commercial performances (hereafter referred as the self-employed performance brokers), shall go through registration formalities in the industrial and commercial administration department and obtain business license according to law.
A self-employed performer or self-employed performance broker shall, within 20 days upon his/her obtaining of business license, report to the competent department of culture under the people's government at county level at the place where he/she registers for file.

Article 11 Foreign investors are allowed to set up China-foreign equity or cooperative joint performance brokerage institutions and business entities of performance places with Chinese investors by law, but shall not establish any China-foreign equity or cooperative joint or solely foreign-funded artistic performance organizations, or any wholly foreign-funded performance brokerage institution or business entity of performance places.
For establishing a China-foreign equity joint performance brokerage institution or business entity of performance places, the investment proportion of Chinese party shall not be less than 51%; for establishing a China-foreign cooperative joint performance brokerage institution or business entity of performance places, Chinese party shall have the dominant position in business.
For establishing a China-foreign equity or cooperative joint performance brokerage institution or business entity of performance places, the applicant shall apply to the competent department of culture under the State Council via the competent departments of culture under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government. The competent departments of culture under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government shall make inspection opinions and submit them to the competent department of culture under the State Council for approval within 20 days upon acceptance of applications. The competent department of culture under the State Council shall make decisions within 20 days upon its acceptance of the opinions from the competent departments of culture under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government. For those approved, commercial performance license shall be issued; and for those disapproved, written notifications shall be sent to applicants and explanations shall be made. Applicants shall go through approval formalities in accordance with relevant laws and regulations on foreign investment after have obtained commercial performance licenses.

Article 12 Investors from Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR) and Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR)may establish equity or cooperative joint or solely funded performance brokerage institutions and business entities of performance places in the mainland. The performance brokerage institutions of Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR may set up branches in the mainland.
Investors from Taiwan may establish equity or cooperative joint performance brokerage institutions and business entities of performance places in the mainland, where the investment proportion of the mainland party shall not be less than 51% or the mainland party shall have the dominant position in business. Investors from Taiwan are not permitted to establish any equity or cooperative joint or solely-funded artistic performance organization, or solely-funded performance brokerage institution or business entity of performance places.
The approval formalities shall be accord with Paragraph 3 of Article 11 hereof.

Chapter III Norms on Commercial Performances

Article 13 Artistic performance organizations or self-employed performers may hold commercial performances independently, and participate in any cooperative commercial performances.
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